Vertically-movable kitchen-safe



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSIAH O. WRIGHT, OF OOOHRAN, INDIANA.

VERTICALLY -MOVABLE KITCH EN-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,170, dated May 14,1889.

Application filed March 30, 1887- Serial No. 233,092. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSIAH O. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cochran, in the county of Dearborn and State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Vertically-Movable andTransferable Kitchen-Safes, of which the following is a clear, concise,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of thesafe in its lowered position, the covering for it being omitted exceptupon one door, and one of the guides being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2is-a detail view of one of the guides. Fig. 3 is a side view of the samewith a portion of the side of the safe running in it. Fig. 4 is a detailview of one of the posts of which the safe is composed. Fig. 5 is a viewof one of the supports for the shelves, and Fig. 6 is an outline plan ofthe position occupied by the posts of the safe. 1

My invention relates to kitchen-safes which can be moved vertically fromone room of a house to another, or more particularly from thedining-room or kitchen to the cellar, for preserving food and otherarticles which have been placed in the safe; and it has for its objectsto produce such a safe as can be easily moved up or down by means ofadjustable weights and without any danger of it sticking or binding; andit consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of thesame, as will be hereinafter more particularly described, and pointedout in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which the same letters of reference indi-' and rear cross-pieces, Hand Land the end pieces, J J. The corners or posts are most easily madeout of the ordinary angle-iron of the right dimensions to secure theproper strength with as little weight as possible. The two rear posts, Fand G, are so placed that the sides of the iron will register with theback and ends of the safe, while the two front posts are so placed thatonly one side of each post will register with the ends of the safe, andthe side will projectfrom the ends of the safe as though they wereflanges secured upon the safe.

The shelves of the safe are secured in position by means of the supportsor end pieces, J J, which are made of a strip of metal with its edgesbent up, thus forming a groove through which the ends ofthe shelf can'beslipped in and out. These supports can be secured to the corner-posts atany desired distance apart, although I have found it most convenient tovary the distances from about an inch and a half at the top to twelveinches.

at the bottom. By taking out some of the shelves this distance can beeasily increased between the shelves, thus making this manner ofsecuring the shelves very convenient. Besides it permits the expansionand contraction of the shelves without affecting the dimensions of thesafe.

As the safe is made entirely of metal except the shelves and top, it isevident that it will not be affected by the changes of atmosphere from awarm dry room to a cooler moist one, which would thus have a tendency tocause it to bind as it was being movedup. and down or be so loose as tomove unevenly,

and noisily.

The top and bottom doors of the safe are hinged crosswise, and themiddle ones are hinged vertically. In this way by hinging the top doorlow enough the safe can be easily opened when in its lowered position,and by hinging the lower door highenough the safe can be opened when inthe room above without either of them coming in contact with the floor.These doors, as well as the ends and back of the safe, can be coveredwith perforated metal or wire-cloth, as desired, the object being tosecure a free circulation of air throughout the safe.

The safe is elevated by means of two wire ropes, K K, which are securedto the bottom of the safe and passed over the sheaves L L, and providedwith a number of removable weights, M M. The sheaves are each secured toblocks N, secured to the joist, and the weights when in its elevatedposition, I secure two guides, O 0,- Figs. 2 and 3, to the joist bymeans of bolts or heavy screws. By providing these guides with slots P Pthey can be bolted or otherwise secured to the joist of the floor, sothat they can be adjusted in relation to the sides of the safe, thussecuring a very close fit, and also enabling them to be secured inposition without so much precision as would be necessary if they werenot slotted. One edge of each of these guides is provided with a channelor groove, 0', within which the outwardlyprojecting portions of the twoa I ated with but little trouble or strength, and will avoid thenecessity of manually carry front angle-iron posts fit and slide as thesafe is moved up or down. To prevent undue friction between the guidesand the posts, three anti-friction rollers, R R R, are secured in eachend of each guideone upon each side of the'post and one at itsedge-which will thus'allow the safe to'move very freely. These guidesare of suflicient length and strength to keep the safe in its properposition, and the front posts are made long enough so that when the safeis as high as it will go the lower ends of these two posts will still bein the guides.

A hole is cut in the floor where it is desired to have the safe locatedof sufficient size to permit the free and easy 'movement of the safe.The safe is then placed in position in this hole, with the top of thesafe just even with the floor when the safe is at its lowest point. Theguides are adjusted to the sides of the safe, or to the front posts, andthe ropes secured to the lower end of the safe and passed up over thesheaves or pulleys, which have been secured to the joists of the floor.The weights are then placed on the ropes and the safe is ready for'use.The first two weights are sufficient to slightly overbalance the weightof safe. There are also provided sectional weights, by the use of whichthe Weights may be increased to any desired heft as the load isincreased.

To facilitate the operation of this safe, I place sectional weights onone of the shelves of the safe, and by removing them from or returningthem to the safe it is kept properly balanced, always keeping theweights below enough heavier than the safe and its contents, so thatwhen released it will ascend of its own accord, and may be lowered toits proper positio'n'by a slight pressure of the hand. This safe may besecured in its lowered position by means of any ordinary catch, lock, orfastening.

As thus constructed the safe can be opering food and other articles downinto the cellar or cool room for their preservation, and then carryingthem back upstairs again when they are desired for use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A safe the corners ofwhich are of angle-iron, the rear posts being so placed that the sidesof the iron will register with the backand ends of the safe, while thefront posts are so placed that only one side of each post will registerwith the ends of the safe and the other side will project from the safe,in combination with guides within which the sides of the front postsareplaced. g 2. A safe the sides of which are provided with flanges, incombination with guides provided with slots and having a channel orgroove upon the inner edge of each and antifriction rollers journaled'along said channel.

JOSIAH O. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

JOHN SIEFFERMAN, A. M. CAMPBELL.

